Israel - Bank of Israel, 10 Lirot, 1955 (5715)

The 10 Lirot was the second-highest denomination of the founding series issued in the name of the newly established Bank of Israel, and like its companions it was placed into circulation on 4 August 1955 and remained legal tender until 1984. Where the smaller notes of the series reach back to antiquity through ruins and ancient sites, the 10 Lirot looks instead to the enterprise of the young state: its face shows the Jezreel Valley, the great fertile plain of the north that Zionist settlers had drained and cultivated and which had become a potent symbol of the land renewed through labour. Designed and printed by Thomas De La Rue of London, the note is dominated by green and carries a menorah watermark impressed with tulips, one of a set of floral watermark motifs that distinguish the denominations of this first Lira series. Legends appear in Hebrew on the face and in Arabic and English on the back, reflecting the country's official languages.

Pick 27. UNC. Serial: ו/י 793965